Employment and Salary Survey shows good results in the private sector
The Employment and Salary Survey 2014 results, released this week, show signs of an expansion and strong employment levels within the private sector of the landscape industry.
The results of the Employment and Salary Survey are now available on the Landscape Institute members’ section homepage.
The 869 responses gathered between 21 July and 1 September paint a positive picture of the industry. Employment levels in full-time, permanent roles are high, unemployment is at a three-year low and private-sector employees are indicating growth in the size of their teams, departments or practices.
The survey results are compared with the results of 2012 and 2013 to provide wider trends within the landscape industry.
The report is essential for informing the Landscape Institute of employment trends, and to help prioritise and select topics of work, says LI President Noel Farrer in the survey foreword.
‘The report identifies that more than 50% of all public-sector teams have seen reductions in their team, department or organisation in the last 12 months. This provides a clear indication of where we need to focus our work,’ he says.
‘In the private sector, there are signs of strong employment rates and indications of growth in the size of teams, departments or practices, and employee salaries….It is positive to see so many landscape professionals in stable employment, and is hopefully a sign of future trends within the private sector of the profession.’
Key findings include:
– More people are employed in steady, stable employment. The survey recorded the highest number of members working in full-time (85.2%) and permanent positions (81.6%) for the last three years.
– Unemployment is at its lowest recorded level for the last three years. Only 1.5% of landscape professionals were unemployed at the time of the survey. This compares to unemployment rates of 4.5% in 2013, and 3% in 2012.
– LI Registered Practice employees are the most likely landscape professionals to have had a pay increase in the last 12 months. Two in three at an LI registered practice reported a pay rise.
– The common salary for chartered members is between £30,000 and £49,999, with 61.5% of respondents falling into this salary band, while licentiates earn from £20,000 – 29,999 (75.7% of licentiates fall within this salary band).
– For the first time in three years, more members reported seeing some growth than seeing their department or practice staying the same size.
– Half of the members working in the public sector (51.1%) saw their team, department or practice decrease in size over the last 12 months. However, the percentage of respondents working in the private sector shows no sign of change, and has remained stable from 2012-2014.
– Male landscape professionals are more likely to earn higher salaries than female landscape professionals, even within the same employment level. One in two chartered, full-time male landscape professionals earn £40,000+ while one in two chartered, full-time female landscape professionals earn in the £30,000-39,999 bracket.
The full report is available to read and download.
